The Lost Cause
by infinitus
Summary: Thsi is a great action story about the strong yet foolish Imperium fighting the advanced Eldar


"AHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Another one of Sergeant McConnels men had fallen. He was drenched in blood spewing forth from the wound on his neck.  
  
"Damnit!" cried the sergeant, "How the hell do they keep getting in range. Those damn shurikens can't go very far!"  
  
"I see one," yelled a soldier, "over there, by the ruins." The tall, shadowy figure glared at them for a moment, then suddenly vanished with a great silence.  
  
"It must be one of those "Warp Spiders." Watch out for them when they come back from the warp," ordered the sergeant. "Now let's get in those bushes over there." The team hurried over to the alien vegetation. They would be safe there for now.  
  
The sergeant regrouped his men as the resonant crashes and alien roars seemed to come from every direction. The strange darkness bathed the men in a thick blanket of fear. The team had been part of a small force to take and hold a key imperial outpost overrun by the Eldar. But the mission soon turned disastrous as soon as they arrived. The rescue team had expected little resistance from the aliens and did not bring necessary supplies needed to take control of colony. But the foolish High Command had an unshakeable faith in their men and did not send reinforcements. All seemed lost to the squadron.  
  
"Get me a link with the snipers. Tell 'em to focus on anything near us." Whispered McConnel. The radio manager quickly scrambled for his backpack and created a Comm link with the snipers.  
  
"We need support! We're pinned down in some plants near the pillar. Take off anything u see near us." The radioman nodded to the sergeant. Almost immediately, three loud shots cracked off in the distance, perhaps three hundred meters away. The morale of the men spiked and they all raised their lasguns in rapture. More cracks were heard. One of the men spotted a nearing Eldar unit. Suddenly two dropped as if struck by a hammer. The entire regiment opened fire on the confused Eldar. Three more fell and the remaining retreated.  
  
As the squad advanced on their position, two warp spiders emerged from the warp less than ten meters away from the unit. But as these armored figures sprinted towards McConnels men, sniper bullets struck them down. The squad ran towards some imperial buildings, finding corpses of both humans and Eldar. They had been studying Eldar anatomy and running psycho-ability tests on them. Had McConnel known about this, he would have brought a far more superior force. Suddenly a thunderous boom went off nearby. It was the sound of a Demolisher cannon! The men jolted outside and to their amazement, an entire unit of Eldar aspect warriors had been annihilated by the blast. These "Striking Scorpions" as they were known, were rushing toward McConnel and his men. These highly trained warriors would have easily made short work of the entire squad. But all was not well for McConnel. For with every passing second, one man on the rescue force would fall. McConnel then ordered a retreat of all Imperial forces in the area. The mission was lost and hopeless.  
  
As the squad sprinted back, chagrined and bewildered, a unit of aspect warriors followed their trail. These were of the "Howling Banshee" shrine, one of the deadliest ever encountered by the Imperium. They were all female Eldar, screaming and dashing towards the squad. They moved swift, and jumped over obstacles as if they weren't even there. The banshees were moving much faster than McConnels men were and it would be only a matter of time before he and his men would be caught. McConnel ordered his men to make a stand against the banshees. The squad then stopped and everyone got behind something. They fired blast after blast at the banshees but none fell, the armor of the Eldar was too strong. Then McConnel saw it, the tool that would be his death. It was being carried in two hands with a blade on each end, at least a meter and a half long and shimmered with an aura of destruction. He knew all was lost. But he would not have his men killed. He would not be bound to that title.  
  
He ordered his men to fall back. He told them to go to the drop zone and wait for a transport. No more lives were to be lost but his. As his men headed back for safety, the banshees closed in on McConnel. McConnels blade had been blessed, consecrated, purified and every other ritual possible. With the power to tear through any armor, he raised his blade, screamed, "FOR THE EMPORER," and assaulted the banshees with riotous fury. He rushed into combat.  
  
The banshees screaming had no effect on McConnel. He felt as if nothing could stop him. He was a speeding bullet through empty space. He sliced through one banshee, cutting her nearly in half. He was dodging nearly every banshee strike. One had struck him and gashed his torso. But he would fight through the pain. He would not succumb to a flesh wound. The combat was fierce. With one swing, he severed the heads of two banshees. They fell to the ground silently like feathers. Only three banshees were left living. But still left was the Exarch, no doubt the most powerful of the group. With its "Executioner" blade in hands, the Exarch danced the blade in such a fashion that you could barely see it. Before the blade could reach McConnel, he tore through the Executioner with a piece of it flying right into the head of another banshee. But the blade was still able. It was being swung wildly and would soon rip through human flesh. As it neared, McConnel recited a prayer to the Emperor. He again killed another banshee. Now it was one on one. They stared each other down as the fallen bodies of Eldar mark the arena. They both charged with blades raised. Each was doing everything simultaneously and the each swung and severed necks. Each fell onto the ground of hard, cold dirt. Nearby was the Leman Russ which had saved his crew just minutes before, but the last thing McConnel saw was it being completely consumed into the warp. He knew no man on the mission would see another day. 


End file.
